EP2167616A1

EP2167616A1 - Fuel oil substitution product

Info

Publication number: EP2167616A1
Application number: EP08776517A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Bruno Weber
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2007-06-25
Filing date: 2008-06-25
Publication date: 2010-03-31
Also published as: WO2009001314A1; TN2009000539A1

Abstract

The present invention pertains to the field of crude oil and more precisely of petroleum products and the applications thereof. The invention more precisely relates to a fuel oil substitution product. The invention also relates to a production method and to different applications of said substitution product.

Description

Fuel Substitution Product

Field of the invention

The present invention is in the field of petroleum and more specifically petroleum products and their applications. It relates in particular to a fuel substitute product, but also to a process for obtaining and various uses of said substitute product.

State of the art

In this text, the term "fuel" refers to a petroleum product used primarily as fuel for the production of heat or energy.

"Diesel" is a fuel used as fuel for diesel engines.

A "fractionator" is a hydrocarbon fractionation column.

Heavy fuel oil is a high-viscosity fuel often used by large diesel engines installed on board ships or to supply heating, heating and industrial furnaces. They always contain impurities more or less harmful to the proper functioning of the engines:

• free water, in a relatively high quantity, which is detrimental to the ignition of diesel engines,

• sludge (a mixture of sediments, ash, water, metals and paraffins) that affects the quality of combustion and may be dangerous for injection pumps,

• sulfur, the high content of which causes corrosion of the walls of the combustion chamber and the exhaust valves. Thus, before introducing heavy fuels into an engine, several treatments are essential:

• decantation to eliminate sludge and water by gravity,

• reheating (up to 90 ° C) to facilitate centrifugation, • centrifugation to remove solid impurities and water, followed by

• filtration,

And finally reheating to achieve the ideal viscosity for injection since the injection of heavy fuel is impossible at room temperature given its high viscosity.

In addition, in recent years, the regulation of the quality of heavy fuel oil or diesel has tended to become stricter around the world to improve air quality and preserve the environment.

The main challenge is to meet increasingly stringent environmental standards. It is therefore sought to overcome the problems mentioned above and to reduce the costs necessary for the treatment of heavy fuel oils.

There is therefore a need for a new product to remedy the aforementioned problems.

Summary of the invention

An object of the present invention is to provide a new substitute for fuel oil, in particular heavy fuel oil (Fuel OiI, OiI Furnace, Number 6 OiI, etc. ..) or Diesel fuel (Domestic Fuel (FOD)). , Fuel Oil, Extra Lightweight Heating Oil (HEL), Fuel Oil, Number 2 OII, Heating OII, Marine OII, etc.). In the present text, the substitute product according to the invention is named FSE.

It is obtained by an original process which comprises the use of a catalytic dewaxing unit itself comprising at least one furnace, a reactor which contains conversion and desulphurization catalysts, a separator and a fractionator. The method according to the invention comprises at least the following successive stages:

- Introduction into said unit of a load selected from the following products: atmospheric heavy gas oil, vacuum gas oil, mixture of atmospheric heavy gas oil and vacuum gas oil, atmospheric residue;

- Heating the load to at least 400 ° C, using a furnace under hydrogen pressure, p. ex. at 80 bar;

- Passage of the charge in the reactor and placed in contact with said conversion catalysts; Separation of the gaseous phase from the mixture thus obtained;

- Heating the liquid phase of the mixture to at least 150 ° C;

- Splitting of the liquid phase of the mixture

- Recovery of the ESF.

Advantageously, the separation of the gas phase is carried out by means of a high-pressure separator, which has the effect of separating mainly hydrogen (H ₂ ) and a low-pressure separator, the latter separating the vapors fuel.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the fractionation of the liquid phase of the mixture is carried out by injection of steam or inert gas into the fractionator.

The FSE product has exceptional cold properties, being particularly clean (very low sulfur content, nitrogen, metals, dust, water, sediment), and perfectly miscible in heavy fuels. It can be used as a substitute for diesel or heavy fuel oil, as a substitute for heating oil in large collective installations (consumption exceeding 50 M ³ / year) for example. It can also be used as a substitute for Marine Diesel (MDO or Marine Diesel OiI and Marine Distillate Fuels) for boat engines.

Detailed description of the invention

The invention is described below in more detail by means of a preferred but non-exclusive embodiment supported by a figure which describes the principle of a catalytic dewaxing unit used in the context of the present invention.

Production of the product according to the invention

The basis of the technology used to produce the ESF is a catalytic dewaxing unit (see figure) having a configuration similar to those described in the state of the art. The inventors have found, surprisingly, that an unusual elongation of the conversion cut, ie an increase in the temperature of the feedstock when it is introduced into the reactor, makes it possible to produce a product with very interesting properties. The temperature of the feedstock must be at least 400 ° C when introduced into the reactor. Note that in the processes of the prior art, the temperature of the charge at this stage is of the order of 360 ° C or less, this limit temperature must not be exceeded in order to meet the objectives.

The ESF obtained by the process according to the invention is heavier and more viscous than the products obtained with the processes according to the state of the art. The viscosity of the ESF is greater than 9.5 mm ² / s at 20 ° C. The process according to the invention makes it possible to obtain at the reactor a partial and specific "cracking" (MiId Hydrocracking) since it mainly breaks only paraffins (n-alkanes). Thus its conversion rate is much lower than that of conventional catalytic cracking. Furthermore, the dewaxing unit used in the context of the present invention has the advantage of desulphurizing and denitrifying the final product.

The feedstock (raw material or FEED) initially used in the process according to the invention is preferably heavy atmospheric gas oil (Heavy Atmospheric Gasoil or HAGO or HGO) of an atmospheric distillation unit (Topping), or vacuum gas oil (Vacuum Gasoil or VGO) of a unit of vacuum gas oil or a mixture of VGO and atmospheric heavy diesel.

Alternatively, the charge can be an atmospheric residue (Straight-Run Fuel OiI or SRUN / SRFO).

Deparaffining can operate in complete isolation from an entire refinery. It can also be built as is without being on a refining site. A direct import of its load (SRFO or HAGO-VGO) can be considered.

In this example (see figure), the feed is initially heated, by means of an oven, to about 400 ° C and 80 bar, so as to be introduced into a reactor at this temperature. Hydrogen H ₂ is added, itself being recovered during a subsequent separation (see later in the text). The feed then passes into the reactor which contains the conversion and desulphurization catalysts. The resulting mixture is then separated from its gas phase (at high pressure) in a flash flask (SEP HP). The pressure of the liquid phase is reduced and a new gaseous phase is formed, a new gaseous phase which is separated from the liquid mixture in a second flash balloon (LPSEP). The resulting liquid phase of the mixture is then directed into a fractionator which separates, advantageously by injection of steam at 150-175 ° C., the various components, Naphtha, Jet / Kerosene, Gasols and finally (bottom of the column) the FSE. . The gas phase produced in HP SEP, rich in hydrogen H ₂ , is reinjected at the beginning of the process. The second gas phase (LP SEP.) Rich in methane and ethane can advantageously be used as fuel for the furnaces of the unit (FUEL GAS).

The condensed gases <C5 are evacuated. A first fraction containing the naphtha can be recovered. A second fraction contains Jet / Kero. A third fraction consists of diesel. The product according to the invention, the FSE, constitutes a fourth fraction.

Product specifications according to the invention

Table 1 below summarizes the specifications of the product according to the invention. The values specified in bold writing in Table 1 are the basic specifications of the product according to the invention. The other values are given for information only.

Table 1 The ESF offers exceptional resistance to cold as it only freezes at strongly negative temperatures (-15 ° C), without any prior crystallisation, which allows it to be stored without reheating.

The color scale of the ESF is between 2 and 8. It is measured according to the method specified in ASTM-D.

The ESF has a sulfur content of less than 50 ppm reducing the emitted SO ₂ to a negligible amount. The sulfur content is measured according to the method described in ASTM-D5453 (UV fluorescence).

Its viscosity at 20 ° C is greater than 9.5 mm ² / s, preferably between 10 and 20 mm ² / s. It is measured according to the method specified in ISO 3104.

Its pour point, that is, the temperature at which the product no longer flows, is less than -15 ° C. It is measured according to the method described in ASTM D97.

Its contents in metals and in dust are negligible (traces not measurable).

ESF is perfectly miscible in heavy fuels to cut their sulfur and nitrogen content in particular.

Table 2 summarizes the specifications of domestic fuel oil (FOD) and heavy fuel oil (FL) for comparison with the product of the invention (see below). The measurement methods used are identical to those mentioned in Table 1.

Table 2

The ESF has the lowest sulfur content, 50 ppm against 1000 ppm for the

Fuel oil for domestic use and 10'000 ppm for heavy fuel oil.

The pour point of the ESF is also well below that of domestic use and heavy fuel oil (-15 ° C against -9 ° C and + 25 ° C respectively).

The viscosity of the FSE at 20 ° C is also much lower than that of heavy fuel oil

(4 to 7 mm ² / s against 380 mm ² / s), thus requiring no warming after storage in the factory for example. Examples of use of the product according to the invention

The ESF was developed as a fuel substitute for heavy fuel oil (used by large boilers) and diesel (small and medium-sized boilers) to meet environmental standards (reduction of sulfur, nitrogen and particulate emissions). It can be used pure or as a mixture (dilution of pollutants). It can also be used for the following applications:

• Fuel for slow diesel engines (boats, construction equipment, etc.) • Lubricant

• Coating product

• Raw material for the petrochemical, chemical and mineral industry

• Substitute of gas

Use for heating

The ESF can substitute for heating oil (heating oil) in conventional medium and large power installations such as low-rent housing, public buildings, factories, collective housing complexes, etc. It requires a preheating of the order of 30 ° C to 40 ° C to present the product to the burners units at a suitable viscosity. ESF is used in combination with conventional Heavy Fuel OiI in large urban facilities to reduce releases of sulfur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and dust to the atmosphere. Similarly, it can be burned pure in these same facilities without heavy and expensive investments. Only a temperature adjustment to the burners is necessary. Its high calorific value allows substantial energy savings. Industrial use

In the same case as the heating engineers, the ESF can be used by the industrialists to satisfy the limits of the discharges to the atmosphere imposed by the authorities. The ESF makes it possible to avoid heavy investments such as switching to natural gas. If burned pure, it supports the comparison of releases caused by the use of natural gas. It is easily miscible with heavy fuels, allowing to prepare, by mixing, a product on demand, thus satisfying the respective constraints of the rejects. Its storage in the factory does not require any heating which is always expensive. It is storable in conventional tanks of conventional diesel.

Maritime use

The ESF is a product that can be used in boat refueling. It replaces the Marine Diesel OiI (MDO), used by small and medium size boats. Its almost zero sulfur content places it at the forefront to replace MDOs with a very high sulfur content. The strong reduction in pollutant levels imposed by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), which targets the MARPOL standards, opens the door to the ESF as an alternative product. For large vessels, the ESF is a point-mix product that allows ships to meet the demand for these same release orders. When it arrives in a constrained port, it can burn as fuel the FSE or mixture of Fuels / FSE thus satisfying the standards in force in this port. Logistics: storage, transport of the product according to the invention

The ESF is a white product which, as opposed to black products (heavy fuels), does not require reheating of the storage tank, resulting in substantial savings.

From production to consumption, it does not need to be reheated or maintained at a high temperature, unlike heavy fuels. It is logistically handled like a diesel, which greatly facilitates its transport. It is transportable by sea, iron, pipeline and road without special precautions other than those attached to petroleum products.

It goes without saying that the invention is not limited to the detailed example described above. It also covers the use of any type of device and / or method for obtaining ESF.

Claims

claims

1. A process for obtaining a fuel substitution product (FSE) comprising the use of a catalytic dewaxing unit which itself comprises at least one furnace, a reactor which contains conversion and desulphurization catalysts, a separator and a fractionator, a process using at least the following successive steps: introduction into said unit of a feedstock chosen from the following products: atmospheric heavy gas oil, vacuum gas oil, mixture of heavy atmospheric gas oil and vacuum gas oil, atmospheric residue;

- Heating the charge to at least 400 ° C, using a furnace under hydrogen pressure; - Passage of the charge in the reactor and placed in contact with said conversion catalysts;

Separation of the gaseous phase from the mixture thus obtained;

- Heating the liquid phase of the mixture to at least 150 ° C;

- Splitting of the liquid phase of the mixture - Recovery of the FSE.

2. Method according to claim 1 wherein other components are recovered.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2 wherein the heating of the liquid phase of the mixture is between 150 ° C and 180 ° C.

4. FSE product obtained by the process according to any one of the preceding claims.

5. FSE product as defined in claim 4 having a viscosity at 20 ° C greater than 9.5 mm ² / s, preferably 10 to 20 mm ² / s.

An ESF product according to claim 4 or 5 having a pour point of less than -5 ° C.

7. ESF product according to one of claims 4 to 6 having a sulfur content of less than 50 ppm.

8. ESF product according to one of claims 4 to 7 freezing at -15 ° C without any prior crystallization.

9. Use of the FSE product as defined in one of claims 4 to 8 as a fuel substitute.

10. Use according to claim 9 wherein the FSE product is a substitute for heavy fuel oil or diesel.

11. Use according to claim 10 wherein the FSE product is a substitute for heating gas oil (heating oil).

12. Use according to claim 10 wherein the FSE product is a substitute for Marine Diesel (MDO) for boat engines.